As-produced single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) tend to aggregate in bundles due to π–π interactions. Several approaches are nowadays available to debundle, at least partially, the nanotubes through surface modification by both covalent and noncovalent approaches. Herein, we explore different strategies to afford an efficient covalent functionalization of SWCNTs with cobaltabisdicarbollide anions. Aberration-corrected HRTEM analysis reveals the presence of metallacarboranes along the walls of the SWCNTs. This new family of materials presents an outstanding water dispersibility that facilitates its processability for potential applications.

The UAB-CIE (International Excellence Campus) Sphere celebrated the 10 years of the European Research Council (ERC) with the event “ERC: Challenges and Opportunities”, held at the CRAG Auditorium on March 30, 2017. ICMAB has now 9 ERC funded projects, 4 of them from 2016. The ERC researchers are Marta Mas, who participated as speaker in the event, Núria Aliaga, Mariano Campoy, Agustín Mihi, Alexander Ponrouch, Teresa Puig, Massimiliano Stengel and Gerard Tobias.